As the creator of something, do you give it life? As a fiction writer, does a story acquire a life of its own? As a software programmer, do you sometimes feel that what you’re creating has something to teach you? Is your creation of any sort just something you do and have done, or do you nurture it and query it about what it needs to succeed?
I recently had the pleasure of visiting my old friend, Robert Worstell, on his farm in Missouri, after 20 years of not seeing each other in person, but 15 years of regular communication and collaboration.
This was a very meaningful and useful time for us both, and I hope our conversation conveys some fraction of meaning and usefulness to the listener. We mine a vein of gold here, not just about writing, but about the relationship of anyone with the subject of what he or she is creating. It’s a perspective that applies across the board, whether one is a writer, a programmer, a salesperson or carpenter, etc.
We hit on something very interesting regarding the intersection of technology and choice which I, personally at least, found quite profound.
Enjoy. And consider how the mechanics discussed here might apply to what you do and what you create.
Music
Bumper music: Phantom from Space by Kevin MacLeod.
Links
Robert’s Writers Challenge Accountability page
Help on becoming a writer – FREE for now
Free stuff from Robert for listeners of this episode
Package of three free courses on writing FREE
Go Thunk Yourself, Again – A great book containing an outline of Roberts approach to researching subjects.
Becoming a Writer, by Dorothea Brand
Previous Technology & Choice episodes with Robert Worstell
TC 34 - On Writing and Research, with Robert Worstell
TC 2 - Revenge of the Social Media Zombies